Thursday, May 26, 2011

As if Philadelphia needs another reason to be proud of its ever expanding food scene; this past weekend the Rittenhouse Row Spring Festival was the stage for the city's most sought after eats to show off their flavors!

From the park's perimeter to every sidewalk, there was culinary madness, fashion shows, and family fun spread up and down Walnut Street. The atmosphere was abuzz with food filled mouths chattering about all the surprises found housed in each white tent.

Well-loved eateries such as 10 Arts Bistro, Alma de Cuba, Square 1682, Le Bec Fin, Rouge, Continental Midtown, Village Whiskey, Prime Rib, Di Bruno Bros, El Rey, The Dandelion, Marathon Grill, Butcher and Singer, Le Castagne, Parc, Barclay Prime, Swiss Haus, The Oyster House, and La Croix and more all sported signature dishes cooked on the spot. As some of these locations have reservation lists booked for months in advance, Saturday was a great way to get a taste without the wait! From wine tastings, to beer sampling, full sized dinner plates, to spoonfuls of ice cream, Rittenhouse Row had it all going on.

(2) The pastry mavens at Termini piped cannoli on command throughout the day;(1) Le Bec Fin served up itty bitty bites of France with each signature mini dessert; (3) Continental Midtown did their best to keep the crowd cool with a variety of popsicles made in-house, like this one, themed after their famous Tang based cocktail "The Astronaut"; while Alma de Cuba (4) turned up the heat with a spicy pulled pork sandwich complimented by cabbage slaw! And the local produce purveyors were impossible to miss as they added the vibrant colors to the day. With selections including crates of strawberries, tomatoes, spring onions, and bibb lettuce,(5) everyone was toting something around to accompany that night's dinner. That is of course, if they had any room leftover after spending the day enjoying so much of the city's greatest treats. Read more from guest-blogger Aly at Gradtogourmet.com